'Be careful out there' the roll call mantra across SouthCoast

Roll call differs from department to department on SouthCoast. But no matter where, the goal is the same — to share information, occasionally train officers and underscore the importance of safety.

CURT BROWN

It is a slew of essential information at the start of an officer's shift that often influences the entire tour of duty, day or night.

It's dubbed "roll call" and it lasts about 15 minutes, more or less.

And it happens three times a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

"That's where they get all the information for the day. It is absolutely essential to the function of a shift," said Dartmouth Police Chief Timothy M. Lee, stressing the importance of roll call. "To put it in sports terms, it's like a pre-game meeting."

Roll call differs from department to department on SouthCoast, which has large, medium and small-sized police forces. But no matter where, the goal is the same — to share information, occasionally train officers and underscore the importance of safety.

Typically during roll call, the oncoming superior officer discusses what has happened on the previous two shifts as well as passing along any directives from the department's command staff.

Capt. Joseph Cordeiro, who was leading 4 p.m. roll call recently at New Bedford's downtown station, told the five officers coming on duty to make sure the photo identifications on ice cream trucks are prominently displayed and that the photo matches the operator.

He was relaying a directive from Deputy Chief David Lizotte because of a fear that a sex offender might be operating an ice cream truck, he said.

It is a $500 fine for not displaying a photo ID. It is an arrestable offense for a sex offender to be driving an ice cream truck, he said.

Holding up a surveillance photo of a woman in her 40s, he asked the officers to be on the lookout for her; the woman was suspected of stealing a shopper's iPhone at Market Basket.

Cordeiro also advised the officers about upcoming street closings, complaints about young kids riding their bicycles on sidewalks downtown and a 17-year-old girl missing from New Bedford.

Outside the station, Cordeiro checked each officer's cruiser for exterior damage. The lights and sirens and the cruiser's laptop computer are also checked to see if they are working properly. The firearms are checked to prevent an accident caused by a round in the chamber.

"Have a good night, guys. Be safe," Cordeiro told them. "The most important thing is that we all go home safe and we keep everyone else safe and we live to fight crime another day."

Roll call is driven by recent crime trends, he said. If an area was being hit by wheel thieves, for example, he would urge officers to get out of their cruisers, walk around and listen for anything, including dogs barking, he said.

Sgt. Kevin Kobza spoke to three officers, who were drinking iced coffee and bottled water and occasionally taking notes, at roll call in a meeting room at the Fairhaven Police Station recently.

He was passing on intelligence information about possible business breaks. "Once you clear, go back around and take another look," Kobza said.

Young kids have been jumping off the causeway on West Island and Kobza asked his officers to show a presence there.

He reminded them that 69 officers have been shot in the line of duty in the U.S. since Jan. 1 and he also mentioned the recent shots fired incidents in New Bedford's North End, which borders Fairhaven.

Acushnet Chief Alves said his department is small and roll call reflects that with only three officers and a dispatcher attending. Roll calls are informal and reliant upon officers reading the log and police reports.

In Dartmouth, Chief Lee said a dispatcher attends roll call and depending on the shift, detectives will attend and pass along information.

"We try to get as much information sharing as we can," he said.

Lee said that "above all else," officer safety is emphasized.

"It sounds cliche, but officer safety is paramount," he said.

Or as Sgt. Phil Esterhaus used to say on the '80s crime drama "Hill Street Blues" — "Let's be careful out there."